Patent · US Expired

Lighting unit for a three-dimensional graphics accelerator with improved handling of incoming color values

US5914724A · kind A · utility

16Cited by
2References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 30, 1997
Grant dateJun 22, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 30, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/80
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A lighting unit which exhibits improved handling of incoming color values corresponding to a polygon. The lighting unit includes an input buffer for storing a plurality of color values, a mode register including a color mode field specifying whether the plurality of color values corresponds to the front or back side of the polygon. Furthermore, the lighting unit includes a register file for storing color information. The register file includes a first and second plurality of registers for storing front and back side color information, respectively. Still further, the lighting unit includes input/output logic configured to perform a transfer color instruction, which first comprises accessing the mode register to obtain a value of the color mode field, and then transferring the plurality of color values from the input buffer to one or more registers within the register file. The one or more registers are located within the first plurality of registers if the value of the color mode field indicates that the plurality of color values correspond to front side color information, and are located within the second plurality of registers if the value of the color mode field indicates back s…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.